The ATF Olympics
by subtleshadeofgrey
Summary: The powers that be at the ATF have come up with yet another team building exercise. But this time the guys might actually like it. Except Ezra of course. Will Team 7 win? Will Ezra enter into the spirit of it all and will he conquer past memories? Will Chris go grey before his time? And will Nate need to update his first aid kit? Read on and find out.
1. Chapter 1

THE ATF OLYMPICS

Disclaimer: I do not own the seven and I most definitely do not own the Olympics (they can be a little litigious or so I've heard).

Summary: Well the clue is in the title really. Those pesky bosses at the ATF building have come up with another team building exercise, but this time it looks like the guys might actually be happy about it. Well except for one of course – but maybe not for the reason you might think. A bit of fun, a bit of angst and Ezra in hardly any clothes – what could be better! (and yes, the scenes of Ezra in his tablecloth were firmly in my mind, yum!)

A/N Being a Brit we have a little sporting competition going on at the moment in case you didn't know. Caught up in all the excitement I couldn't resist penning a little story. By the way hope you all enjoyed our opening ceremony. I think it had a certain charm and I hope the rest goes well. Also just a mention about one event I am not including in this story although it is an Olympic event, shooting. This is for two reasons. Firstly with the agents using weapons regularly and being tested on the shooting range I felt that there would be no suspense for them, after all they all already know that Vin is the best! Also I admit to a certain amount of discomfort in featuring shooting after the tragedy in Colorado – silly I know, people kill people not guns as they say, but it's just the way I feel.

A/N2 This will be quite a short story, probably just four or five chapters of which this first is the longest. I don't want to still be writing it come the Rio Olympics in 2016 lol. All suggestions and comments welcome. Oh and distances etc are in metres because that's what they are in the olympics.

OOO

OO

"Okay ladies, conference room in two minutes."

The teams collective heads raised and brows furrowed at their leader Chris Larabees announcement and rapid stride across the bullpen and into his office.

He wasn't growling which was good. But a two minute warning suggested a possible urgent case which was bad… and good. Good in that action was what they were there for and bad in that they had just finished a particularly long and tough assignment – in fact Nathan was still in a state of shock that they had all emerged from it unscathed. He kept casting suspicious looks in Vin and Ezra's direction as though waiting for one or both of them to collapse from some hitherto unspotted injury. All in all they had been rather looking forward to a few days of boring paperwork for a change.

"Wouldn't Mr Larabee have been carrying more than just a single sheet of paper with him if it were a case. He has just come from Travis' office after all." Ezra's musing had the effect of transforming all their frowns into looks of puzzlement.

"Best get it over with" announced Vin as the two minutes rapidly ticked away.

"Indeed brothers" chimed in Josiah's baritone rumble, unflappable as usual. "We won't find out what is afoot unless we…"

"Move your asses" Chris called as he exited his office still clutching the suspect sheet of paper along with a newly added notebook and pen. As the leader of team 7 strode ahead JD turned to his gathered friends.

"Hey guys, you don't think it could be… a memo, do ya?" JD winced at the five glares he received in return for his suggestion. Departmental memos were the kryptonite to any successful and therefore rebellious federal agent and team 7 often felt unduly targeted by official red tape and political correctness.

"Gentlemen, I have a memo." Chris stared bemusedly as JD hunched down in his chair under a barrage of accusing looks. 'What was with that, wasn't as though the kid had written it' Chris shrugged. The day he understood his men was the day he would know for sure that he was insane.

"I think you'll like it." Glares turned to blatant disbelief and those accusing looks transferred their target. Well he supposed he couldn't really blame them. Memos usually meant new ways to torment them.

"Well get on with it!"

Trust Buck Chris thought with affection for his affable yet easily excited friend.

"Best get it over with" added Vin once more. Although he was the total opposite to Buck and could wait patiently all day if necessary however it WAS way past breakfast.

"Well" he began and everyone leaned forward expectantly. Everyone but Vin who was too laid back to get over excited and Ezra… well appearances WERE everything. Chris sat up a little straighter himself as he got down to business. "You do realise, I'm sure, that it's been over a year since the last Agency fundraiser don't you?"

Groans met the statement and were music to Larabee's ears – 'serves them right for all the grey hairs they'd given him, his count was in double figures now. Thank God he was blond!'

Federal fundraisers were, as far as most teams were concerned, evil, pure unrelenting, dinner suited and booted, finger food filled evil. And the gala dinners were bad enough; God help them if this was a talent contest or a slave auction. A collective shudder went through the men although Buck's thoughts were stuck on the possibility of a slave auction… he smiled lasciviously and his mustache twitched as his thoughts wandered. A sharp dig to the ribs brought him back to the moment. He grinned unapologetically. Could he help it if he had a well developed imagination.

"Before I go any further I need to state that this was Evies idea so it's set in stone guys" More groans. Chris was right; as wife of their boss nobody would dare to insult Evie Travis besides she was a lovely lady and nobody would even want to.

"It's a masked ball ain't it?" Vin voiced his deepest fear. For some reason he couldn't understand the moment he put on a tux the women wouldn't leave him alone… it was flattering but embarrassing.

"No it isn't. Since two agents were discovered to have hired ringers to attend for them while they snuck off to 'a more pleasurable event' Chris said the last in a distinctly southern tone as he stared into two sets of unrepentant eyes, one sky blue and the other jade green. He ignored the muttered "would've worked too if'n the idiot hadn't taken his mask off to bong a beer" Chris also ignored the sniggers accompanying the memory.

"Well as I was saying" Chris attempted to continue.

"Before you so rudely interrupted yourself."

"Ezra!" Chris was tempted to give up. He could swear he just felt another grey hair sprout but continue he did. Determination was his middle name… actually it was Matthew but still.

"The bosses have elected to do something different this year. Something that should even make you guys happy, well most of you" Ezra raised an eyebrow at his leaders pointed look but said nothing.

"As long as I don't end up dragging anyone to the ER I'll be happy" Nathan commented but seeing Chris wince brought on a sense of foreboding. He stared hard at Ezra and Vin who smiled innocently – truly a frightening sight.

"Can't promise you that Nate. We're talking sport here."

The tones of massed repeated 'Sport? What sport?" varied from bouncy enthusiasm from JD to near horror from Ezra who was pretty sure that Larabee didn't class poker as sport and to Ezra anything that involved sweating in public was a step too far.

"Remember the agency baseball tournament? Before your time Ez" Chris clarified at Ezra's puzzled querying look.

"Cool! We having another one?" JD had done well at the last one in more ways than one. Casey had been so impressed with his skills she had agreed to their first date.

"Not quite JD. But since this is an Olympic year it was thought that an ATF Olympiad might go down well."

"Wow!" JD's puppy dog enthusiasm was matched by Buck's "Yeehaw" Chris was sure that if the ladies man had been wearing a hat he would have been waving it in the air. Josiah looked pleasantly surprised and patted Nathan's arm consolingly as the medic made a rapid mental inventory of his first aid kit. Vin kept quiet but his eyes shone with an excited glimmer while Ezra's expression showed… nothing at all, his poker face was firmly in place. However if anyone had been looking a moment ago, hadn't been distracted by Buck's cry, they might have seen just a shadow of what might have been distress cross the pale eyes.

"So how will this work, and how will it raise money for charity?" Ever the practical one Josiah brought an end to the excited chatter and got them back on track.

"Okay, it's quite simple really. The actual games will take place in a month" 'I should give Josiah a raise' Chris thought thankfully as he consulted his brief. "That will give everyone time to practice their event. There will be volunteer coaches provided by local sports clubs and schools. All necessary equipment will also be supplied and if you have always wanted to try a new sport but never had the chance then there are no prerequisites just don't expect to win a medal. I'm sure that the ATF has a lot of hidden talent… and Buck, I expect you to keep your 'special talents' hidden. This competition is open to all employees and the last thing we need is a sexual harassment allegation."

Buck looked hurt.

Chris's stare was unimpressed.

Buck chuckled, shrugged and nodded. Could he help it if he was irresistible?

"The actual competition will last one week with those not competing filling in as needed to keep things ticking over. Team nine, all of whom are over 45 will be team on call as they have agreed not to take part." Actually they had jumped at the chance to avoid it, in part because they hardly ever got to be at the front of the queue for the best cases given their ages. "Josiah, though everyone will be expected to take part there is an optional refusal over the age of 45 so you don't have to compete, however those with no sport to train for are expected to offer support services. Give it some thought. And Nate you're under 45 but might be needed as a first aider so you'll have an optional exemption."

"No Ezra" Chris added before the southerner could do more than open his mouth to speak.

"The committee have drawn up a list of events. Each participant will be expected to sign up for at least two disciplines and no more than four. Competition will be on an individual basis with medals awarded for gold, silver and bronze positions. However medal totals will be added together at the end of the competition to decide team placings overall. The winning team will be presented with a trophy and one weeks vacation, destination to be announced. The money raising element will come at the end of the tournament which will be a sponsored half triathlon which every competitor in the other sports will be expected to participate in unless they have good reason not to, like being injured or unable to swim. Proceeds are to be split between Mercy Hospital's childrens ward and the Purgatorio Park reclamation programme. Any questions before I list the sports?"

Silence. 'A miracle' Chris mused.

"Now don't forget guys, you don't need to be experienced in the sport you choose but I wouldn't recommend trying something totally alien to your physical capabilities, we want to win this."

Everybody nodded and listened closely as Chris listed the chosen sports.

"Okay fellas we have,

Weightlifting

Archery

Fencing

Athletics, which will consist of the 200m hurdles and the 100m. Both running events can be chosen individually and there's a medal for each but they only count as one discipline when you choose. There will also be a field events competition which will be a combination of javelin, discus and long jump. Those come as a package.

We also have boxing

Taekwondo

Wrestling

Diving, both 3m springboard and for those of a suicidal disposition the 10m platform – but please note, it says here, that only those with previous experience of diving will be allowed to compete on the platform due to the skills needed. Tuition will be given on the springboard if required and is open to all.

The swimming events will be the 4 X 100m individual medley and the 100m freestyle. Like the running both can be chosen independently of the other but if you choose both it will only count as one choice as they are both in the same category.

There will be a two man canoeing event which will be the only two man event in the games.

The triathlon will be half the distances of the real thing which will mean a 750m swim, which is fifteen lengths of a 50m pool, then a 21.5km bike ride and finally a 5km run." Chris waited patiently as the chatter started up again. He could understand their enthusiasm because he felt the same himself. It had been a hard year and they all deserved a little light relief. He watched the expressions on his men's faces, judging their level of emotion and was pleased to see almost the whole team were on the same playing field as it were. Well except Ezra of course. But then he hadn't expected anything else. Their enigmatic undercover agent wasn't known for his love of the great outdoors and seldom turned up for football or baseball games with the rest of them. He supposed it must be hard for the man, being a rather obsessive perfectionist in his job, to take part in a competition he didn't have a chance of winning. Poker was not, thank God, an Olympic event otherwise no-one would stand a snowballs chance in hell. However Chris had had enough of Ezra lurking on the periphery of the team so he would take part even if it killed them both.

"Right guys, JD photocopy this list of events and hand them round. I want you all to spend the rest of the morning giving your choices some thought and we'll meet back here after lunch. And I don't want everyone signing up for the same few sports. We need as many medals as possible so we need to be spread around. This may be for fun but we still want to be top of the tree… don't we?"

Chris' glare left no doubt that saying no wasn't an option and most nodded emphatically on their way out.

OOO

OO

Ezra chose not to join the others for lunch. He had some thinking to do. Grabbing a sandwich and a Starbucks the troubled southerner headed for the park and sat on a bench by the lake. The coffee disappeared quickly, despite the warmth of the early summer day he felt unaccountably cold. The sandwich remained uneaten. What on earth was he going to do.

He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to run and not look back. 'Oh don't try and fool yourself Ezra P.' he mused. What he wanted to do was take part, take part and win his chosen events, do well for the team and prove to Larabee that he valued them as much as Josiah kept telling him that they valued him. But if he did all of those things parts of his past that he preferred to keep private would become public, amongst the team at least. He snorted at his own attitude. It wasn't as though he were hiding some terrible dark secret. No dead bodies were involved; no FBI dramas, just… just something personal that had destroyed a little part of him way back and that he thought he would never have to face again. Silly really. Bits of his sandwich went to feed the ducks. He watched them swimming about and his anxiety smoothed out into a subdued yet not bitter resignation. It was his chance to prove to the guys that he could be a team player. A chance to prove it to himself too. After all nobody had ever given him a chance before. He owed it to them. He owed it to himself.

Lunch for the others had proved a little less introspective but all of them had taken some time to ponder their choices and they had all agreed to keep their deliberations to themselves. The last thing Chris wanted was anyone taking on a sport they didn't want because of their individual friendships. He quirked his mouth in a slight smile, he was already feeling the competitive drive set in.

OOO

OO

Once again Chris surveyed his men seated round the conference table. The excitement was more pronounced now even though the atmosphere seemed calmer. He spent an additional few moments checking out Ezra, his biggest worry. To his surprise his undercover agent appeared calm and even vaguely interested in proceedings. He looked away quickly when Ezra sent him a little smirk and a trademark two fingered tap to an imaginary hat in salute. Readying his paper and pen he began.

" Don't forget that I want as wide a spread of events as possible but that doesn't mean that more than one of you can't choose the same event if you want to. So let's take down your…"

"Pants!" yelled Buck among giggles and sniggers. 'Why me?' Chris lamented silently.

"Choices" he continued. "You first Josiah, what have you decided?"

"Well Chris, I may be a bit long in the tooth but I think I've got a little fire in me yet so I'd like to take on the weightlifting if that's ok. And I'll have plenty of free time to help anyone who needs it, be it coaching or just someone to talk to" Josiah was a big man and naturally very strong, he wasn't nicknamed 'the bear' for nothing. Everyone nodded and commented on the rightness of his choice.

"Nathan?" Chris turned to the next in line.

"Well I think if you guys are going to be throwing yourselves into unaccustomed activity you might benefit from having a person around who can organize your diets, physio and the like, but I'd hate to miss out on the fun so I'd like to take up the fencing. Got some experience from my college days and it would be nice to get my equipment out of moth balls."

"Buck!" Chris warned again before his friend with the dirty mind could make anything of that statement. "Excellent choice Nate and having you as our guardian angel will give us a great advantage. You next JD, and don't forget that unlike Nate and 'Siah the rest of you all have to take on at least two events each.

JD was literally bouncing in his seat, his bangs flapping in his eyes. "I played a lot of sport as a kid but it was mostly team sports, ice hockey, baseball and at MIT I was kinda into my computers and gaming so I don't have any specialities. I can run though and swim. So I figure I might do well at the 100m and 200m hurdles track races and the 100m freestyle swimming." JD stopped bouncing as a frown appeared on his leaders face. Had he made an error?

"Don't want you to choose just based on what you might win at JD You need to enjoy it too."

Relieved JD let out a whoosh of held breath. "Oh I'll enjoy it, they both sound like fun and I'll get to show off my stunning physique to Casey."

"Heck JD! If Casey hasn't seen ya pheeseek by now then you're doing something wrong! Maybe I should lend ya some of my animal magnetism!"

Even Chris couldn't help but laugh at that one and JD blushed even as he was laughing and mock threatening his roomie.

"That sounds fine then JD, long as you're happy." Chris made a note of JD's choice. "Buck, dare I ask?"

"Heck Chris, I'm such an all round bundle of awesomeness it's been an impossible decision…. Everyone's a critic" he groused at the unrepeatable comments he received.

"Just give me the details Hercules"

"Gotta do the wrestling. I owe it to the public to let them see my 'expert techniques'… don't laugh, I'll have you know that I was really good at college, until I discovered that grappling with sweaty men wasn't half as much fun as grappling with sweet smelling women." Chris smiled. It was true, he had been a good wrestler at college.

"And? Two events at least, remember?"

"Well, I had a fancy to do something a little different since there'll be training so I'm gonna do the springboard diving and the field events."

"Good, good" Chris acknowledged before giving Vin and Ezra a questioning look as Ezra whispered something to his partner which resulted in much mutual amusement. Vin shook his head to say that it was nothing but both men looked at Buck with glee. No doubt they'd find out what was so funny later. "Your turn Vin."

"Done some archery 'm pretty good with a bow. I'll give the Taekwondo a go too. Be nice to do it in a competitive atmosphere. Think I'll join Buck on the 3m board too."

"Great stuff" Chris enthused "We're getting some wide ranging choices but also some events where we can support each other."

"What about you Mr Larabee? Ah presume that team leaders will be leading from the front? Surely you are not exempt?" Ezra didn't think for a minute that Chris would shy away from taking part but if his question put off having to make his own choice public for a few more moments then it was worth that inevitable glare.

"No Ezra, leaders are not exempt, even team 3's leader will be doing something"

"Didn't see donut eating on the list"

"I wanna do the donut eating!" Vin yelled in response to Buck's jibe. There was not much love lost between the two teams and Mitchell was not only unfit he was lazy and always badmouthing other teams agents.

"I spend so much time wanting to hit the people I work with I figure I should be a natural in the boxing ring" Chris brought them back to Ezra's question.

"Nothing to do with boxing for the navy then?" Buck asked with a smile

"Not at all" Chris lied with an answering grin.

"That is only one event Mr Larabee"

"Your ability to count astounds me Ezra. I'll also be doing the swimming, the 4 X 100m medley."

"Aw hell" It was spoken quietly but unfortunately for Ezra his comment fell as the chatter died away.

"Something that you want to tell us Ezra?"

'Yes, I quit, I'm retiring to a tropical island filled with beautiful women and pineapples. If only' "Nothing in particular Mr Larabee." Was his actual reply. Never had his poker face been so difficult to fix in place.

"Well don't keep us in suspense son."

Josiah's chivvying displayed a curiosity that was shared by the rest of the team. They hadn't expected their skittish friend to go along for the ride so easily.

"May Ah first say that I am doing this under protest…"

"No, so get on with it" Chris could tell that the protest was only token but he wasn't going to let the man think that it would work.

"Very well Mr Larabee. Though I feel that given the wide range of Olympic sports available the choice could have been a little less… energetic…"

"I Hear that Olympic basket weaving goes down a storm in some countries"

"Very funny Mr Tanner. We cannot all have your unfortunate affinity for the great outdoors and perspiration."

"Ezra! For pity's sake…"

" Ah will join Mr Tanner in the archery… someone should be there to give the poor man some competition, Lord knows that our colleagues on the other teams don't stand a chance."

"Thanks Ez"

"You are welcome Mr Tanner."

"At least one more Ezra" Chris kept his fingers crossed and the disbelief out of his voice. Surely it couldn't go this smoothly.

"The 4 X 100m medley and the 100m freestyle."

Chris nodded happily and jotted the final events down. He could keep an eye on his most insecure agent in the pool. Meant he wouldn't have to confiscate his passport… passports plural knowing the wily conman.

Ezra waited a few moments. Could he help it if he had a flair for the dramatic? He WAS Maude's son after all.

"And the 10m platform diving."

Silence fell like a stone and mouths hung open.

Chris' pen snapped in half.

OOO

OO

To his credit Chris recovered quite quickly considering the bombshell that had just been dropped on him. Perhaps Ezra had forgotten that platform divers needed some experience… yeah right; his agent with the photographic memory had forgotten something. And a pig just flew past the conference room window. Perhaps the man was joking. That was possible. When he wasn't being paranoid he had a wicked sense of humor.

"You're not joking are you. You do remember that…"

"I have some diving experience."

"Oh." It was all that Chris could think of to say. He forced himself not to turn in Nathan's direction but he could swear he had just heard a whimper.

Seeing the need to break the moment Vin slapped his partner on the back none too gently and offered "Hey Ez, if'n you lose your nerve up there I can give you a helping hand" The slap became a push in example.

"Why thank you Mr Tanner, so kind of you to think of me when you are going to have to spend so much of your time adjusting to the new healthy eating regime that Ah'm sure Mr Jackson will be organizing for you." He grinned his sharks grin at Vin's scowl and shudder… vegetables, ugh.

"Oh God, get me out of here, somewhere without troublesome overgrown danger junkies." Nathan held his head in his hands in exasperation.

"Somewhere with pineapples" suggested Ezra with a heartfelt sigh.

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

Chris shook his head as he broke up Ezra and Nathan's peculiar conversation and by turn, the meeting. That had all gone better than he had thought it would. A sex mad exhibitionist. A neurotic medic armed with a sword. A sharpshooting martial arts expert with a knack for getting revenge against those who had offended him or his friends and a reckless conman with no sense of personal safety and a love for heights.

Piece of cake.

OOO

OO


	2. Chapter 2

The ATF Olympics Chapter 2

A/N Thanks so much for all the positive feedback. I'm loving the Olympics and it's wonderful to see not only our own athletes doing so well but everyone else as well.

OOO

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The forms had been filled out, liability waivers signed and Evie had spent two days going around the building thanking everybody personally for their participation though in private she had voiced her concerns about the high diving which had attracted a surprising five applicants. It would have been six but Harrison from team two had pulled out when somebody had corrected his error – ten metres were not the same as ten feet. She had made Orrin promise to keep a special eye on Ezra. Orrin had readily agreed; he knew better than to question the motherly feelings she seemed to have developed for the southern pain in the ass. He'd only done it once and had found out just how uncomfortable his sofa was.

Chris looked at the required equipment list and frowned. All specialist tools of the chosen sports were to be provided but the small things, clothes and such were left to the personal preference of the competitors. He already had his boxing gear and what wasn't up to code would be provided but he'd need to get fitter so he'd need running shoes and sweats. And… hell, he wasn't going alone to shop for THEM, there was bound to be a young slip of a girl serving. Of course it would be even worse to send Buck… the girl could be traumatised for life. And as for THAT!... he figured he now knew what Vin and Ez were laughing about. Well he wasn't going to suffer alone. He made the required appointment and then went to gather his fellow victims. They were the Magnificent Seven. They could do this.

He was doomed.

Ezra, meanwhile, found that people were still giving him strange looks. Josiah kept randomly patting him on the shoulder and he was pretty sure that Nathan would need therapy by the time this was over. At the moment he was hunting down Vin armed with nothing but a diet sheet and a determination that would put a real Olympian to shame. Ezra wondered if he should tell the medic that the vegetable hating Texan had left the building to meet the Taekwondo trainer… Nope. Whatever it took to keep his own person safe from yet another safety lecture.

Nathan was frustrated. Those who needed little advice were more than willing to listen while those who really needed help were avoiding him like the plague. It was at times like this that he was glad he wasn't an actual doctor. An old physician had once told him that 'It would be a great job if it wasn't for the patients' Nathan hadn't understood at the time… he did now.

"Hey Jackson! Can you come upstairs and give Team 4 a hand… MacDonald's taking archery and he's been drinking carrot juice to improve his eyesight… I think he's turning orange, is that normal?"

Nathan sighed. It had been like this all day. From sprains and strains to chlorine turning hair green and now carotene poisoning. "I'll be right there Sorbo" he called as Agent Sorbo waved and dashed back to his own team… they'd set up a wrestling mat in the bullpen. It would be fine as long as they remembered to avoid that central concrete post.

Nathan hoped that Vin didn't see MacDonald too soon. He'd never get any vegetables down his ornery throat if the Texan saw what they could do to a man.

OOO

OO

Mr Larabee, I really don't see why we should be performing this particular act together. It is hardly a dangerous operation." Of course Ezra knew exactly why their supposedly fearless leader did not wish to enter the lions den alone. They all did. In fact going by the hangdog expression on their sharpshooters face he was of the same frame of mind.

"Hello Darlin' We're here to get geared up for some competitive swimming and diving and you look like someone who could help us find what we need."

The store assistant who couldn't have been a day under fifty under all her botox and false additions immediately responded to the Wilmington charm with a flutter of eyelashes and a hungry gleam in her eye. Chris suspected that a young salesgirl might have been the lesser of the two evils after all and even Buck was slightly taken aback. Chris glared at his three youngest as they began to back away nervously towards the door and freedom.

"Stay!" he growled in a whisper.

"Woof!" replied Vin to sniggers from Ezra and JD.

"It's okay Darlene I'll take care of these gentlemen."

A flash of disappointment shone in the cougar's eyes but she knew better than to argue with her manager… especially after that unfortunate incident with the delivery man last month.

"Sorry about that guys. Darlene is a great asset to the store but she can be a little, shall we say, enthusiastic."

"Enthusiastic like a school of piranha" Vin whispered to Ezra as they backed up their leader… from about two steps behind him.

"My name is Lucy Cavendish, I manage Denver Multisport. How can I help you? You wouldn't be part of the ATF fundraiser by any chance?"

"Yes ma'am" Now that the danger was over Chris had handed proceedings back to their most social animal and Buck stepped forward eagerly. Lucy was much more his type.

Unlike her employee Lucy was no man eater. She had to admit to herself that the overly eager cowboy had a certain something but she knew better than to give him any hope. Not while she was working anyway.

Lucy soon had them following her like little lambs as she explained and displayed the appropriate gear for the right sport. Everything went smoothly with track gear, protective equipment and other accessories going in their baskets with no hassle. Lucy reminded herself to make a donation after this was over. This was the best business she had done in months and this wasn't the first batch of agents she'd had in over the past couple of days. She had learned not to laugh out loud at the looks of horror and embarrassment at the skimpiness of some of the items. But it was adorable and inevitable once they hit the swimwear section. If the sweet, long haired Texan went any redder he would clash with the garment he was holding. The man dressed all in black was holding a similar pair by finger and thumb… at least they were what seemed to be his favourite color.

"What about this?" She turned to see the youngest holding a far more substantial suit. "I've seen Olympic swimmers wearing these" he added hopefully. He couldn't wear those teeny weeny things that Ezra was examining with a complete lack of embarrassment.

"They are the most modern, specially designed for speed but I wouldn't think that you would want to make such an investment for a single event." Lucy winced as the young man paled on checking the price.

Chris held up a pair of what looked like acceptable thigh length shorts in some kind of lycra. Not as baggy as he'd like but not, what had Buck called them? Oh yeah, not budgie smugglers either. Sometimes he wondered just where his friend got his vocabulary from.

"We'll take these, in black. We're a team, we need a team color" he instructed as mouths opened to protest. Only Ezra failed to stop.

"Ah don't remember it being in mah contract that you get to choose mah personal clothing Mr larabee."

"You rather Buck do it?"

Ezra looked over to where Chris was pointing. The pair of speedos in lime green with a dolphin in a quite strategic place was truly a ghastly sight.

"Point taken Mr Larabee. Black is a very sophisticated color."

"So can we go back to the office now" JD pleaded. How was he ever going to let Casey see him in those… Oh God, Nettie would see him!

"Not yet JD, we have one more stop to make." Chris led them back to their cars after practically dragging Buck out of the shop but not before the lothario had slipped his card into Lucy's pocket… or before Darlene had slipped her phone number into his.

"So where are we going?" JD's enthusiasm had quickly returned. The clothing had been secured in the trunk of the Jag and as far as he was concerned it was out of sight out of mind.

His enthusiasm didn't last long.

"No! No way… Everywhere? Aw come on guys, it's just a bit of fun, it's not as though we're booked into the Olympic village. This body is a work of art, the ladies love my masculine physique…"

"Suck it up Buck, it's hardly our fault that you're hairier than a grizzly." Chris had to admit that he wasn't looking forward to the 'deluxe men's active wax' either but anything that gave them an edge in competition would be done no matter how humiliating. It didn't stop him glaring at Vin and Ezra, neither of whom were particularly hirsute… in fact the warm welcome their undercover agent had received from the receptionist had told him more than he needed to know about the southerners off duty activities. Still, the familiarity with the staff and system had helped them steer their way through the services on offer. While Buck was familiar with places that offered massages it was hardly the same thing… thank God.

For once JD supported his roomie totally. He may be the youngest but he was hardly the smoothest. He had to admit that he'd often wondered how he'd look all smooth and stuff… Casey seemed to like hairless pop stars and actors. But it hurt. Oh well, anything for the team and for Casey.

"Aaarggghhhh"

The cries had been going on for some time. Vin and Ezra, having gone first being that they needed least attention, sat in the comfortable spa area drinking the iced tea and snacking on the nibbles provided – Ezra neglected to inform his vegetable phobic partner that the 'exotic chips' he was enjoying were made of parsnip and beetroot - and enjoyed the sounds of suffering around them. Ezra suddenly held up a hand to still their conversation. He listened for a moment and then smiled.

"Ah think JD just managed to hit a perfect high 'c'." They grinned at each other and then continued their discussion of the rules of archery. This was compensation for all the suffering they knew the rest of the team was going to put them through.

"That's gonna be covered pretty lady, you don't need to…."

"Now ma'am, I don't think my girlfriend would like…eep!"

"I have a gun!"

Ezra nearly choked on his carrot stick as he and Vin collapsed in gales of laughter. This was truly worth it.

OOO

OO

Next day dawned with ATF agents heading out all over the city and beyond to take advantage of the free tuition offered by the willing volunteer sports coaches, their senior charges and teachers. Most of the teachers would never again berate their pupils difficult behaviour …ever, not after dealing with overly confident, under confident and mostly just plain terrified federal agents.

For some reason hurdles proved particularly troublesome which was strange for men who were used to leaping over all manner of obstacles in pursuit of various felons. The hurdles were only three foot high and the 200m distance was only half the normal 400m Olympic distance. JD had, however, surprised himself with what his coach had deemed a natural knack. No, JD's problems didn't lie on the track they were in the shape of the coach… the very nice shape of his coach. Which was accompanied by an equally nice face. Having Casey along for support didn't seem like quite such a good idea now. Personally he didn't see the problem. He loved Casey and even if he had been tempted, which he wasn't, Lisa was very happily married with two cute kids. He really didn't get just why his girlfriend was so jealous. Heck he didn't get women at all.

"Now just hold still or do you want me to poke your eye out?" Nathan gripped Vin's chin harder as the restless Texan fidgeted in his seat.

"It's nothing Nate, jest a scratch."

"And if I treat it now it'll stay nothing. I knew this whole thing was a bad idea from the start… damn competition hasn't even begun yet."

Vin sighed. There was no stopping Nathan in mother hen mode.

"And I might have known that you would be one of the most troublesome."

"Hey!" He couldn't let that go, even if it probably was true. "Taekwondo is a precise art, can't help it if'n my sparring partner has lousy judgement."

Nathan stopped in mid cleaning of the small cut above the agent's eye. "I thought you were sparring with the official coach?"

Vin grinned. "I was. Figure the gold's mine already! Can ya hurry up, only I'm due to meet Ez for archery practice soon"

Nathan sighed again and continued his work. He was thinking of asking to be paid per sigh, he'd be able to retire before this was over.

Buck looked over at JD trying to placate his girlfriend as he practiced his own track events. He knew better than to interfere in a man's romantic troubles, especially when she had back up in the shape of Nettie Wells. No, definitely not. He returned his attention to his discus. He had the distance, now if only he could get the damn thing to go in the right direction.

"Sorry!"

Finch from Team 1 glared at him. Team 7 were lethal enough in the office how could anyone let them loose with blunt instruments? He gulped as he spied the stand of javelins. Shoot! None of them would get out of this alive.

OOO

OO

The next day saw a lot less rushing and dashing about and a lot more careful movement accompanied by a rather all pervasive odor of muscle rub. Even Josiah kept stretching and popping his shoulder joints. Chris, meanwhile was far from his normal cool headed self.

"Well where the hell are they? Because I'm not going through all that again!"

"Last I saw they were in Ez's Jag" offered Vin helpfully.

"I knew it! That weasel would do anything to get out of this. I should have known he caved in too easily. Where is he?"

Vin scowled at the accusation. Chris and him might be like brothers but so was Ez and on top of that Ez was his partner. You didn't talk like that about a man's partner.

"He's probably resting after all that arrow shooting. Must be hard work" Buck mimed pulling on an arrow string and made a swooshing sound. He closed his good eye in mock aim at the sharpshooter. He'd told them that the other eye had been blackened in a wrestling move. No need to know that Finch had thwacked him. Didn't see what all the fuss had been about, the javelin had missed hadn't it?! Wasn't looking forward to telling Chris that he'd been banned from the field and would have to rely on his other events. Chris had spent hours making charts and had the whole thing predicted… he could be a tad anal about sports. Best to redirect his obsession and Ez always made a good target, bless his contrary southern heart!

"Ain't that easy Buck" Vin defended his friend. He'd been pretty impressed with Ezra's skills. Probably not a gold contender but it had been good to have support. "Ez said he had an errand to run. He'll be here soon and you can aske him."

"Ask him what?"

"Speak of the devil" Chris growled in a voice like ice which seemed to do nothing to intimidate the southerner.

His team backed away slowly. They may be reckless but they weren't stupid.

Ezra sauntered into the bullpen carrying a Starbucks in one hand and a plain plastic bag in the other.

"Why I don't believe I've even mentioned your name this morning Mr Larabee." Ezra threw the insult straight back but in a much more pleasant tone of voice.

"The swimwear Ezra. It's missing and we're due at the pool now!"

"Hardly now I think. We have at least an hour. And here" he passed over the bag "You're welcome."

Chris's expression changed from angry to puzzled as he automatically took the bag from the elegantly manicured hand. The others crowded round now that they were pretty sure that violence had been averted. Perhaps their leader had worked out most of his frustrations in the boxing ring earlier in the morning.

"Aw Ez, I'm sor…"

Ezra waved him off. "No need Mr Larabee. I should have explained my intentions. I just thought it might add a nice touch." The last was added almost shyly.

Chris nodded as he pulled several garments out of the bag. Each of the plain black items had been professionally embroidered with a design obviously created by Ezra himself. The stylized shield in gold surrounding the number 7 in blue was simple yet said it all. They were a team. "Very nice Ez. Now they'll all know who whooped their asses."

Ezra blushed at the praise and smiled the genuine smile that they had nicknamed his little boy smile, the one that was so rare.

As the others patted his shoulder and offered their own praise Vin whispered in his ear. He raised an eyebrow and looked over at Buck in contemplation. So the cowboy had tried to use him as a distraction had he? As unofficial arranger of bets and pools within the agency it was part of his job to know everything that was going on… everything.

"Ah am ready to adjourn to the pool if you gentlemen are" Ezra brought the praise to an end and Chris understood that such things embarrassed the reticent man. He gathered the swimwear back into the bag and made a heading out gesture. Just before they left the office the southern tones once more broke into the chatter.

"Oh Buck, so sad to hear of your disqualification from the field events. Quite an achievement to be kicked out before the competition even begins I must say."

"BUCK!"

"Aw hell" Buck knew he shouldn't have tried to use Ezra as a shield.

Perhaps the boxing hadn't done so much good after all.

TBC

A/N Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter sees our guys in the pool and Ez has a few surprises in store.


	3. Chapter 3

The ATF Olympics chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the seven; I don't own the Olympics and I don't own any Olympic medals… unsurprisingly.

A/N Thanks so much for all the support I really didn't expect it but really appreciate it. I've tried my best to be as accurate in terminology etc as possible for a non sporty person but even with the BBC website and commentaries mistakes will probably occur. Please note that if Boulder does have a swim club this is not it. Also, American English v English English – Swimwear, we call them swimming trunks for men whatever their length, don't know what else they may be called so just humour me please. The character Ryan Kelly isn't mine but I don't know who created him. He's become as fanon as Chaucer and I know that he is widely borrowed – hope the author doesn't mind me doing the same. Hope you are all still enjoying the games… you can hardly see the rain on TV lol.

OOO

OO

"Okay guys, my name is Michael Philips and this is my coaching partner Ian Thorn. We also have the club's Diving coach Tom Bailey. We're all from Boulder Swim Club and we'll be taking you through your paces in the pool. Nice to see so many of you taking on the water events" Michael looked over his new pupils. Some were a little fitter than others but all looked fairly eager which was half the battle. He had his suspicions, though, that some had presumed swimming to be one of the easy sports… they'd learn soon enough. He gave the introductory talk over to the diving coach, Tom.

"First of all guys I know that five of you have elected to take on the 10m platform, good going. I will need to have individual chats to see what level of experience you have if that's okay?" He received nods from Ezra, Chen from team 5, Hanson from team 6 and Kaplinsky and Juarez from team 8. "Good, until then I want to start you off a little lower so you'll begin your training with the 3m spring boarders. Most of you diving guys as far as I can tell are also doing at least one swimming event so you'll be working today with Mike and Ian and we'll begin our training proper this evening. Those just diving can do this introductory session in the pool to get the feel of the water again and then branch off into my tender care. Good luck gentlemen.

"Thanks Tom. Okay guys this is the first and probably the most fundamental lesson in swimming that I can give you…"

Everybody became ultra attentive.

Ian smirked before continuing in his soft Australian accent. "The first thing you're going to have to do if you want to win gold is… take off your towel."

There was much self conscious sniggering as nearly half the swimmers clutched tighter to the towels wrapped around their waists.

"Don't worry guys" added Michael "The pool is heated, you aren't going to give anybody a false impression of your um, 'athletic prowess.'

Chris shook his head. For all his tall stories Buck was clutching his towel as tight as the rest of them. It was Ezra's lack of modesty that surprised him most. Like the other high divers he was wearing an extremely skimpy pair of trunks that barely had room for their team design – which had drawn admiring and jealous glances from the other teams… at least he hoped that it was the design!

The session went well. Nobody was trying for speed yet it was all about technique. Chris could easily spot who had previous experience in competitive swimming and who didn't and Ezra most definitely did. Things were looking up for their medal hopes and he wasn't going to deny that he was curious about this piece of his enigmatic colleagues past. Even after Ezra being with them for over a year they knew very little about either his personal life or his past. Some things they had learned quickly like never play poker and expect to win. Always watch his back in a bust because he'll be operating like he's expendable. And never mention Maude… they hadn't understood that one at first but then they met her. Chris shivered despite the heat in the pool.

"Hey Larabee what's with the designer panties?" Ryan Kelly swum up to the side of the pool to join his fellow team leader. As leader of team 8 Ryan was one of the few agents that Chris respected and vice versa, not that either of them would admit it.

"Ezra's idea. Seemed like a good one."

Kelly laughed. "Certainly gives folks an excuse to look where they're looking." He laughed even harder as the look on team 7's leaders face confirmed that he hadn't thought of that.

OOO

OO

JD had relaxed when he realised that this was a closed session. Casey had threatened to take pictures and post them on facebook –she would have too. He was actually enjoying training not only with the other guys in the team but also those on other teams. The ATF tended to be a little bit tribal which was okay but JD was a social creature. He had already found two guys who shared his love of fighting robots and there were plans to get together after all this stuff was over. Something suddenly caught his eye and he turned to watch the first of the divers take to the springboard.

Tom winced as the first six of his divers, admittedly the ones with no real experience, belly flopped into the water, coming up coughing and spluttering from the water that had shot up their noses and two of them making frantic grabs for swimming trunks that had been a little too flimsy and certainly too small to resist the force of the water. He had a lot of work to do.

"Okay, next up is Vin Tanner, Team 7" Tom looked down at his notes as the nervous looking agent readied himself. Experience consisted of river diving with the kids of Purgatorio. Nice to see someone helping out underprivileged kids.

Vin stood as instructed at the end of the board, getting the feel of the springiness. He looked over to his team who gave him a thumbs up and he ignored the other teams whose gestures weren't so supportive. He particularly noticed that Team two were getting a little verbally vicious in their rivalry. Not that they stood a chance of winning. He breathed in and with a little prayer he launched himself into a simple dive. As he came up to the sound of general applause he relaxed. While he wanted to do well he was pretty sure that he stood little chance of winning this event. He just hoped that he didn't make a complete fool of himself… and at least he still had his swimwear on.

As the session progressed the more experienced divers came up for their shot. Particularly impressive was Juarez from Kelly's team which was unsurprising since he had experience in cliff diving in Mexico and Ferguson from Team 2 who claimed to have dived at county level while in high school. Most of the other teams took anything said by team 2 with a pinch of salt but he was quite impressive with his forward dive in the pike position… and he knew it. Despite their inter-agency rivalries one thing all the other teams had in common was their loathing of team 2. From rumours of some of them being too physical with suspects and even occasionally witnesses to the just plain obnoxious general attitude team 2 had few friends in the ATF. They did, however have connections with the FBI and went out of their way to torment Ezra at every opportunity due to his past unpleasant association with the feeble feebies. More than one man, therefore, gave Ferguson glares as he made loser gestures at Ezra as he took to the springboard. Ezra ignored them all.

Chris hoped that Ezra was as good as he… Chris suddenly realised that at no point had Ezra actually claimed to be any good at diving. He had just assumed because the undercover agent had taken on the 10m board. He felt like slapping himself upside the head. Ezra was a born gambler. He was likely to have agreed on the high board with no more experience than jumping off a large rock in a pond. Never was the old saying about assume making an ass out of u and me ringing more true. But surely the man wouldn't do anything that would show him in a poor light either… appearances being everything and all. Chris crossed his fingers. This could go either way.

Chris's heart sank as Ezra performed a perfectly adequate though by no means perfect dive. He wanted to glare at his southern pain in the ass for his own assumptions proving unfounded but directed it at the jeers coming from team 2 instead. Vin, Buck and JD's congratulations were simple and heartfelt and Chris felt a little guilty for his disappointment as he clapped a hand on Ezra's unexpectedly broad and muscular shoulders in support.

And then Ezra winked.

Chris smiled a feral smile. Sneaky weasel. Never forget that Ezra was first and foremost a con artist.

A strangled gasp suddenly grabbed his attention and he looked over to a pale JD who had made a grab for his towel. He wasn't the only one. And when he saw the reason for their shock he reached quickly for his own.

"Mary! What the heck are you doing here? This is a closed session! That means no women!"

Mary Travis grinned and cocked her head questioningly at the three women divers, who looked quite frankly as though they were cats dropped into a creamery.

"They're not women" Chris answered the unasked question adamantly.

Mary's grin became a smirk and she raised her eyebrows at the comment.

"You know what I mean, they're competitors" Chris huffed as his team mates giggled at his embarrassment. The presence of the woman had been unexpected to say the least but most tended to forget that there were a few, too few some might say, female ATF agents, not to mention the support staff. The decision to include the women in one all encompassing diving event due to lack of numbers for a separate session hadn't been argued… the threat of a dreaded sexual harassment lecture had seen to that.

Deciding to put the poor underdressed man out of his misery Mary announced to all that she was officially covering the Olympics for Denver's Clarion newspaper and the internal ATF magazine.

"So let's get down to business Chris" she almost purred as training around them resumed. "Just how much did you scream when getting waxed? Discerning readers want to know."

"I have no compunction over shooting women you know" Chris growled although the corners of his mouth were threatening to turn upwards.

Mary looked him up and down slowly and admiringly before asking "So should I be worried that you are carrying a concealed weapon? or are you just pleased to see…"

"MARY!"

Mary ignored the howl of protest and the corresponding howls of laughter from others including Kelly who Chris had no doubt would have the gossip spread round the building by morning and tapped the tip of her pencil against her tongue before putting it to the blank page. She spoke deliberately as she wrote.

"Team seven were at the forefront of the pool events with their leader… the much admired and much feared 'bad element' Christopher Larabee proving in the pool that his expertise lay with more than just a gun… ladies will wonder whether his athletic prowess carries over into the bedroom…" She laughed as the notebook was grabbed out of her hand and the pencil went flying into the pool.

"Don't worry Chris, Evie has editorial control so you should manage to keep your collective virtue" Chris and his men breathed a sigh of relief; Evie was a lady. "Although she did mention something about a charity calendar …"

"Oh God!"

"Dear Lord!"

"Uh,uh, no way!"

"Eep!"

Buck looked pityingly at his so called brave team mates, brushing aside his own modesty of an hour or two before and, although he knew that Mary was joking, immediately mentally penned himself in for Mr December just in case. There was a lot you could do with a little imagination and a santa hat!

Ferguson glared at the bonhomie between Travis' daughter in law and the golden team and swore that not only would team 2 beat them they would do so by whatever means were available.

OOO

OO

"So Ez, I'm presuming that you held back on your swimming and diving?" Vin had also spotted that Ezra was holding back. He had waited until they were all back together in the saloon eating a late lunch, or an early dinner for those with diving practice that evening.

"You certainly had me fooled for a while" Chris admitted as he rebelliously munched on a fry under the disapproving eye of Nathan, their self appointed Jiminy Cricket.

Buck and JD's dual "Huh?" letting Ezra know that they hadn't figured it out. Ezra knew what was coming but did he want to air his past disappointments in public? He was hardly in the habit of pouring his lifes woes out to strangers… but then these amazing, remarkable men were hardly that were they. And they offered of themselves so freely and didn't berate him for his reticence. Decision made Ezra called for another round of fruit juice, damn that medic, and began his short and sorry tale.

"As I am sure you gentlemen are aware I was not always, as a child, kept clutched to the bosom of my dear mama" he paused for a moment to allow the mental image to sink in… and for JD to recover from his choking fit. "There were times when she deemed it desirable to leave me in the care of others. On one of these occasions she left me at boarding school in Atlanta. I was fifteen at the time and for a change it was quite a pleasurable experience" Ezra didn't notice as he was pouring a glass of pineapple juice the looks that the others exchanged. What he had said had led them to wonder just how rare good experiences were… that woman had a lot to answer for. "Anyway" he continued after taking a sip, "I did not have many outlets for my normal pastimes, especially after I beat the deputy principal out of a month's wages." he gave a wry smile as the others laughed – they had all been victim to Ezra's favourite pastime. "So I found myself joining the swimming club and after a little persuasion, the diving club. I did unexpectedly well at both activities… thank you my dear" he digressed as Inez brought more fries. Ezra pretended not to notice the feisty bar owner hover just within hearing distance. The woman could be trusted implicitly.

"Did you compete?" Vin had noticed his partner's lack of nerves in the pool compared with when they had been at archery practice.

"Indeed Mr Tanner. The school had House competitions and competed against other schools at galas. I quite excelled at swimming and did reasonably well at diving."

"How well son?" Josiah could tell that there was something they weren't being told and he just hoped from the hint of sadness in the jade eyes that they weren't going to be sorry they asked.

Ezra knew that the perceptive profiler would see to the heart of the matter. He was pleased to have been given a lead in and decided not to object to the apellation son this once. "Please do not get me wrong, I was good and with a couple more years of training under my belt I could have been… but there was a spare place on the team and my times were good, good enough it seemed…"

"Holy Sh… Atlanta! You'd have been, what, sixteen? You were in the Olympic swim team?" Buck's exclamation had them all looking round to make sure they weren't overheard but it was the slow period and only Inez was privy to the revelation. All eyes quickly went back to their blushing and rather sad looking friend.

"Heck Ez, why did you never tell us, all those times we teased ya about yer lack of enthusiasm for sports?"

"Looks like we were concentrating on the wrong sports" Chris answered Vin's question while Nathan had received the answer to a question he had never dared ask… how come someone who seemed as lazy as Ezra was so damned fit.

Josiah's bad feeling hadn't gone despite the exciting revelation and he reckoned he knew why. "Ezra, you didn't go did you?" There were gasps as Ezra nodded in the affirmative. Josiah really didn't want his next guess to be right. "Was it because of…"

"Maude." Ezra confirmed Josiah's worst fears. He gave his friends a half-hearted smile in order to ameliorate their anger on his behalf.

"It was a long time ago, And while I took it quite badly at the time if I had developed a career in sports I would never have come to the place I am now." Ezra halted and developed a sudden fascination with his plate of uneaten salad.

They all knew what it had cost the southerner to be as open as he just had and looked to Chris to prevent any more embarrassment to their friend.

Chris wanted nothing more than to throttle Maude with her own designer scarf but he held himself in check, it wouldn't help Ezra. " She need you for a con?" It was a guess but given their knowledge of the woman's past actions it was an educated one.

"Indeed" Ezra gave his leader a look of gratitude for getting past the awkward moment. "However she was also absolutely horrified at the situation she found her boy in and proceeded to extricate me from the vicinity post haste."

"I would have thought she would be proud of what you'd achieved. Certainly having a son compete in the Olympics would outweigh a con." Nathan may have occasional issues with Ezra but the more he got to know him, and the more he got to know about his mother the more proud he was to be his friend.

"Hardly" laughed Ezra, relaxing slightly now that the cat was out of the bag… and nobody had shot it. "For mother fame is a career killer. If I had achieved success in the public eye my worth to her would have been zero… and I was not about to take that chance of our ties being permanently severed."

They all nodded. While they couldn't understand Maude's selfish motives they could easily empathize with Ezra. Every one of them would have put their mother before their own successes.

After a few moments contemplative silence Chris laughed. He received enquiring looks.

"We're literally gonna blow them out of the water!"

Glasses of juice were clinked together in a toast to their future success and this time it was Buck who needed help regaining his breath as he choked when Inez stepped forward and planted a kiss on the shocked southerner's lips.

"That is for luck Senor Ezra."

Ezra licked his lips appreciatively as Buck spluttered but his thoughts were soon brought back down to earth with a thump as Chris checked his notes and announced out of the blue.

"Guys, thanks to Buck getting kicked out of the field athletics we're an event down so I'm entering the canoe slalom… It's a two man event so…"

Everyone looked toward Vin and Buck sure that it would be one of them that was chosen.

"Ezra you're the water baby, you're with me."

The look on Ezra's face was worthy of a picture so Josiah hauled out his cell phone and duly obliged.

Ezra looked around as though he expected a candid camera crew to appear. Since when did Chris Larabee choose to spend time with him?

"What just happened here?!"

TBC

A/N Poor Ez. Pours his heart out and his reward is to be crammed into a canoe with a suddenly friendly Chris. Did anyone notice my little tribute to a couple of awesome swimmers? Michael Philips was, of course, a salute to the legendary Michael Phelps. A great swimmer and generous both in victory and defeat. Good luck to him in his retirement. And Ian Thorn was in honour of Australian swimmer Ian 'The Thorpedo' Thorpe who has been commentating for British TV and has been a joy. Tom Bailey was a little mention in honour of our own diver Tom Daley – and the design on the trunks? Well Stella McCartney designed the Team GB kit and when asked what was the most difficult to design she said it was Daley's trunks because they were so small it was hard to fit in a design LOL. More up soon and we come to the competition itself – two chapters left I reckon. Hope you enjoy.


	4. Chapter 4

The ATF Olympics chapter 4

Disclaimer: If I owned the Olympics I would be a bit too busy to write at the moment. If I owned the seven… I would be MUCH too busy to write at the moment LOL.

OOO

OO

Ezra Standish welcome to hell. At least that was how it seemed to him at the present time. Why on earth anyone would agree to cram themselves into a small boat prone to capsizing at the puff of a stiff breeze with an insanely competitive and reckless man who also happened to be your boss was a mystery to him…Oh, wait a minute, that's right, he wasn't given an option so no agreement necessary!

And he was wet. Very wet indeed. 'Forgive me for being under the misapprehension that the whole point of a boat was to keep one's person separate from the briny deep' he thought to himself as yet another wave of spray hit him full in the face. A by now familiar feeling of imminent disaster rolled over him just a fraction of a second before he, Chris and the boat rolled under. Instinct and several such dunkings had him right way up rapidly, his physical reaction of coughing and spluttering being nothing as to the reaction of his devious mind as he heard the whooping and cheering from his so-called friends on the shore. They would pay, one day, when he was a little drier… as long as pneumonia didn't set in.

"Hey Hoss, you think maybe Chris has given up trying to shoot ya and has decided to drown you instead?"

And Buck would be at the top of his list.

"You okay Ez? Ready to give it another go?" Chris turned as much as the constricted boat allowed and gave him a rare and happy smile.

Make that second to top of the list. Larabee had just earned top billing.

Chris laughed as he led the way to the shore, one very wet and bedraggled undercover agent muttering dire retribution under his breath. Hell, they didn't stand a chance of winning gold but that wasn't Larabee's aim. If he wanted to win that bad he'd have chosen Vin but whether he knew it or not Ezra needed this. Chris wasn't a profiler like Josiah and he wasn't an instinctive judge of people like Vin. He most certainly didn't have the almost supernatural people reading skills of Ezra, no doubt part natural talent and part survival techniques developed to thwart Maude's child rearing. But Chris could see that Ezra would remain on the outside of their little family unless he was given reason to feel wanted. And as far as Chris was concerned picking Ezra to be his partner in this sport was a good way to show his friendship.

As far as Ezra was concerned, being quite aware of the reasoning behind Chris's behaviour, there had to be easier ways of saying you were a part of the family than water torture. He ignored the warm feeling that infused his person at the thought of how his lifelong dream of belonging might possibly be coming true…

His mistake…. "Mr Larabee I fear this vessel has developed a less than watertight aspect."

"Huh?"

"We are sinking Mr Larabee."

OOO

OO

"Stupid fool southern agents… get pneumonia in the middle of summer why don't you… don't have the sense God gave a gopher… If you're not trying to smash your brains out on a lump of thirty foot high concrete you're trying to ride a sardine can at the bottom of a lake… I blame YOU"

Chris looked thoroughly unperturbed as the normally gentle medic looked away from his examination of Ezra to cast a Larabee strength glare at said look's creator. He shrugged. Nathan sighed and stuck a thermometer into the undercover agent's mouth with a firmness that said there was somewhere else he would rather stick it!

"Mssr Jckssn, hmm fnn"

"I know you're fine, and I'm aiming to make sure you stay that way. "

Ezra sighed and gave up his protests. There was hardly any point with a mouth full of thermometer. As Nathan removed the offending implement and glared at it for proclaiming his patient perfectly healthy Ezra smiled at the chuckling audience.

It was chilling, Vin observed, truly chilling that a smile could hold as much threat as a glare. Suddenly deciding that he had practice to get to the sharpshooter made his excuses and left. He was closely followed by the others who shared Vin's sense of self preservation. Once he was alone Ezra allowed himself a true smile of pleasure. That had been worth the dip and the fussing. He should channel his inner Larabee more often.

OOO

OO

Day one of the games came all too soon for the participants. Evie and her charity stalwarts had outdone themselves and quite a crowd had come to the athletics stadium close to the Federal Building to witness their efforts.

JD was nervous. He was more nervous than he had been on his first official date with Casey and considering that he had to run the gauntlet of Nettie Wells interrogation that was saying something.

He looked over to where all his team mates had gathered in support… Ezra was making notes in a small book. He hoped that he'd given him good odds. He ducked his head suddenly in embarrassment as Buck and Josiah held up a banner proclaiming 'JOHN DUNNE GOT GOLD' He might have appreciated the play on words if he had been able to think straight but he could barely remember that he WAS John Dunne.

"Will the participants in the 200m hurdles please approach the starting blocks."

"John Dunne got beat, that's what it should read punk."

JD ignored Rubley from team 2 as he tried to get into the zone that their coach had schooled them in these past weeks. Ezra and Vin had warned him that team 2 were likely to use dirty tactics and no-one knew people better than those two. Besides Rubley was one of the slowest in the race. Psyching him out was his only chance… a chance that JD wasn't going to give him.

"You can do it JD. I'm so proud of you!"

JD grinned at Rubley as Casey's endorsement carried across the track. How could he fail with Casey behind him. Rubley scowled. He'd told Ferguson that the kid wasn't as green as he looked. Only way to intimidate the kid would have been with his fists but Ferguson had vetoed it. Maybe he'd get the chance to trip him up somewhere along the way.

Rubley never got the chance. As soon as the starting pistol sounded JD, in the lane next to him, was off like a greyhound. JD didn't pay any attention to those around him. His whole focus was on his stride pattern and controlling his breathing. It was a rush. Even the pain as the adrenaline set fire to his muscles and the lactic acid flowed through his system were somehow good… proving that he was alive, that he had never felt MORE alive.

And then it was over. As he crossed the line he realised that there were no bodies ahead of him. He looked around as the other runners followed in his wake. He looked up at the scoreboard.

He had won! Suddenly he was surrounded by his friends whooping and patting him on the back, even Nathan was holding off on the mother hen act in favour of congratulating his team mate and Ezra, while not being overly effusive, was beaming with obvious pride… of course he could have been thinking of how much money he had just won. Before he could get his breath back to ask how he had done during the race his mouth became otherwise occupied. He crossed his eyes in an attempt to verify that it was Casey on the other end of that kiss before responding. It was.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow ow!" The kiss was broken off suddenly as the hero of the moment hit the deck clutching his calf. It was one thing to run through the pain but entirely something else when the whole thing was over.

"Lactic acid" Nathan shook his head as he began to administer some physio. "Everything in moderation" he observed as everyone laughed at the 'hero' whimpering like a baby and Casey pouting as though her boyfriend had gotten cramp on purpose. Chris ignored them and made a note in his own little black book… Standish wasn't the only one keeping a tally but Chris's gold wasn't money, it was far more important… it was a win, their first of many. They weren't called the Magnificent 7 for nothing'

OOO

OO

To give the runners, like JD, who were competing in both running events a break between competitions the stadium was also hosting the field events and the archery that day. It also gave the supporters a bit more bang for their buck. Thanks to Buck's lack of sense of direction they had no participants in the field events, though Buck was pleased to see that the guy who had blacked his eye won the javelin. He'd have hated to have been clobbered by a no hoper. So as one the team, after basking in the reflection of JD's glory… a picture of which was to appear in the Clarion, set off to support Vin and Ezra in the archery.

Orrin Travis was beginning to relax. The first day of competition was proving very popular. He was very proud of all his teams and was using every opportunity to up their profile with the many influential figures who were present including a senator and two ex mayors. He gathered team 7 in to, well to show them off really. The team indulged him, they were in a good mood but Vin and Ezra soon became bored and with their first events imminent they broke away. Vin went to perform a little last minute visualization and Ezra went to find a drink… soft of course. Not that he had a choice.

Ferguson stealthily made his way over to the trestle table holding the bows for the competition. They had all been picked at random earlier and now had labels with the contestants names on. His own sat there and he knew he was good but he also knew that he wasn't the best. His eye passed over the name Standish, for once he was no threat. His gaze lingered instead on the name Tanner. Be it gun or arrow the Texan was head and shoulders above the rest. In a fair competition there was no contest. Well, he'd just have to make it an UN-fair competition then wouldn't he? A slight adjustment of the precision engineered sight and at least the first few arrows would miss the bullseye… just enough of an advantage without raising suspicions. A quick look around confirmed that he was still unobserved. He moved in.

"Ah wouldn't do that if I were you Mister Ferguson."

An outstretched arm was suddenly drawn back and Ferguson jumped round to face Team 7's undercover sneak… how did he do that!

"Do what? I wasn't doing anything. What are YOU doing going around sneaking up on people?"

Ezra ignored the attempt at redirection.

"You know mr Ferguson, I have three options here. Number one… uh uh" he raised a hand to forestall the inevitable comment. "Number one, I could report you and have you disqualified for attempting to interfere with the competition. This would, however, have a less than desirable effect among the press here today and would upset Evie. Two, Ah have enough concealed armaments upon my person to equip a small country… I could use them upon your person, however that might cause a delay in proceedings, cleaning away your remains etc you understand? Three" he carried on as his adversary paled "I can whisper into Mr Larabee's ear that you were attempting to undermine the sure and certain winning performance of one of his team… one who also happens to be amongst his best friends."

"I…I…don't…"

"Of course you have options too. Well you have one option… besides professional suicide or long term hospitalization. You can move away now and play this game in the spirit it is intended to be played in."

Ezra noted that that particular shade of red didn't really suit the man but as he could have predicted the leader of team 2 slunk away with his tail between his legs. An hour or so later the sight of Ferguson shaking Vin's hand in congratulation as he was thrashed in the final was particularly sweet for the southerner who had gone out in the second round.

Chris slapped Vin on the back enthusiastically before marking down a second win. He glared at Ferguson and was surprised to see the normally confrontational man gather his supporters together and dash off who knew where. 'Wonder what that's about' he thought before his responsibilities took over once more and he set off to rescue his reticent sharpshooter from the attentions of the secretarial pool.

TBC

A/N One more chapter to go which will cover the rest of the events and reveal the overall winner of the ATF Olympics… yeah like that will be a cliffhanger.


	5. Chapter 5

The ATF Olympics 5

Firstly came a one more up/download and it's gonna cost money situation, then a migraine followed by a head cold… but like a true Olympic competitor (you know, the one who doesn't stand an earthly and crosses the line half a minute behind the rest) I got there in the end.

OOO

OO

Nathan Jackson looked down at the 'gold' medal in his large and capable hands. Hands that had been trained to heal but that had also been trained to duel by his Uncle Abe during many a summer vacation. Of course it had helped that Abe had been a national champion. A choice piece of information that Ezra had encouraged him not to reveal to his opponents. He was looking forward to his share of the profits that had resulted… that southern snake had corrupted him but he was sure that he'd forgive him once he'd seen the look of delight on Raine's face at the anniversary gift he'd been saving for all year. He'd thought that he wouldn't make it in time. Did that make Ezra Standish his fairy godfather? Good grief, what a thought!

Steely glare met steely glare. Confident smirk battled confident smirk and the war of the heavyweights was joinedhad done well during the overall competition. Not that either contestant fell into that boxing category but as far as their fellow agents were concerned Chris Larabee and Ryan Kelly were the two heavyweights of the Denver ATF. And it was a grudge match… well not really since the two team leaders actually liked and respected each other but in true boxing tradition they had felt obliged to put on a show. But now the days of growling, threats and gestures (only when Evie wasn't present) that had gone down so well with the donating public and with a gold medal at stake all friendship was put on hold, for while the lead-up was play acting the will to win was one hundred percent genuine. Both teams 7 and 8 with Kelly's team taking more medals but Chris's achieving more golds. In fact so far only Josiah and Buck had not won a gold but both had achieved worthy silvers in their respective sports of weightlifting and wrestling and considering that they had both been up against much younger men with, in Buck's case, high level experience and Josiah losing by just a couple of kilos to a man twenty five years his junior they had done the team proud. Vin alongside his gold in the archery had taken a silver in the Taekwondo while JD had added a bronze for the 100 metres. Two gold medals on the same day in such an exhausting event would have been expecting too much. It was Nathan's rather unexpected gold in the fencing that had taken the tally beyond team 7's. Chris was a little suspicious about how unexpected it was to Ezra who had that cat and canary look about him that he got whenever he had won money or conned someone. Strangely enough it was a look that Nathan also had. Chris was sure that there was a story there somewhere but he had other issues on his mind at the moment… like battering his friend into next week.

By the end of the bout Nathan was glad that modern protective gear had kept both men from receiving as much damage as they were determined to inflict. Truth be told he hated boxing… lots of medical folk did but his loyalty to his leader and his team had him cheering with the rest as blows were evenly traded. It could go either way.

"And the winner is, with 12 points to ten, in the red corner…Chriiis Larabeeeee!"

The roar had begun at the mention of the corner color and the name went unheard by most as the referee held the winners arm aloft. Both boxers touched gloves in mutual respect and yet another gold adorned Team 7's honor roll.

OOO

OO

Ezra felt his heart sink and his pulse rate escalate as being the last team to go he stepped into the kayak, canoe… implement of torture, whatever. In all honesty even though it was a two man event Chris stood a better chance of a medal if he were competing alone. Hell, even Evie's Yorkshire terrier would have been a more useful partner. Ezra P Standish was nothing if not a realist. He was also an astute reader of human nature and was fully aware that for once winning was not the main aim of this endeavour. But just as Ezra was unsure that he could do his leader proud in the race he was also unsure that he could unfreeze that cautious, wary part of himself, the part of him that had quite literally been nurtured at his mother's knee, enough to be the 'brother' that the family that was team 7 wanted him to be. He felt it, he felt a belonging that he had never felt before especially at Maude's appendage, or should that be AS Maude's appendage because he sure as heck never felt much like a beloved son, but he was far from sure that he could let down his guard enough to show these unfamiliar feelings. As he and his team leader paddled to the start line he did know one thing for sure. He would give this event everything he had and more. If that was the only way he could pay back Chris's faith in him then so be it. Win or drown he would have it made clear that he had given his all…. Aw hell! Did he have to think of drowning! And then the klaxon sounded and both men became extensions of their craft and all other thought vanished as they battled the white water as one.

Bronze! Dear Lord they had gotten a medal! It was a thought that while important was as nothing compared to the feeling of accomplishment at the look of pride Chris sent his way before they were caught up in the joy of their team mates. A part of Ezra that was screaming inside, personal space, personal space, was overruled by the feeling of euphoria and an insane urge to kiss everybody in sight… though thankfully his mother's teachings on decorum kicked in at that point. He did, however reciprocate the hugs and backslaps and Chris stood back and nodded to himself. Yes, he could have won gold with a more experienced partner but this was worth more than any amount of gold. This was his own personal triumph… and bronze? Well he hadn't expected to do that well, in fact he'd checked the details of his will that morning. Must be that Standish luck!

OOO

OO

It had all come down to the pool events. Ezra would have thought that the track events should have rounded off the festival just as they did in the real thing. He only thought that from a perspective of proper procedure of course, nothing to do with the fact that his potential humiliation would have been over by now. But this had been the only date that they could get the pool for and it wasn't technically the final event, that was the mini triathlon but it had to coincide with the final Gala evening… no they hadn't gotten away with avoiding tux hell much to his team mates chagrin. But he was still more nervous of this than any amount of cycling or schmoozing. This had once been his dream and he hadn't allowed himself the luxury of many of them over the years. To add tension to terror much of the coaching had been done on a one to one basis especially in the diving so he like the other competitors had no clue who was fastest or most technically accomplished. And Ezra hated not being in control of the odds. Oh well, in for a penny…

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Denver Olympic pool, at least for tonight. The events being contested here for your pleasure and for ATF fame and glory are the 4 by 400 metre medley, the 100metre freestyle and, after a short intermission we will round off the evening with the 3metre springboard and the bravest of the brave tackling the 10metre high platform. I am sure that before they begin and you all choose your favourites ALL the competitors deserve a round of applause."

All the competitors bowed in acknowledgement of the accolade before moving backstage to warm up. With quite a large take-up in the 100metre event there had been enough people to require elimination heats earlier that afternoon and the fastest eight took their places. JD had an outside lane as one of the slower finishes while Ezra took centre place as second fastest finisher. Ryan Kelly was beside him as fastest in heats. None of that mattered to Ezra. For this one moment in time he was back sixteen years where he should have been rather in Vegas with mother beginning yet another con. He may be older and certainly wiser but his body was still in good shape and the competitive spirit certainly hadn't deserted him. He hoped.

Ezra's first action as his fingers touched the poolside was to look up for the positions. It only then became clear that he was the only one touching the tiles. He looked around and saw Kelly come home and then the rest. He looked over to where he knew his team mates were watching and saw that they were on their feet cheering. He checked JD's position, sixth. Not bad given his lack of experience. As he left the pool to cheering he saw the final positions and times. He had beaten the field by several seconds.

He had gold!

If he had done this in Atlanta he would have had the pride of representing his country but as an ATF agent he did that every day. This… this was special. This was what he would never have had in the Olympics. The pride of family.

Up against both Kelly and Chris in the 4 X 400 medley it was a much tighter finish but his experience in the notoriously difficult butterfly stood him in good stead and he once again came in first.

"Way to go Ezra!" Buck's cry was loud enough to carry over the crowd and Ezra was in fear of being crushed as he was the victim of multiple hugs.

"I'll have you know that I'm not in the habit of hugging nearly naked men Ez" Buck's grin was unrepentant as he stepped away from the blushing undercover agent. He would have been even more mortified if he had known just how many women present had noted that he was blushing all over. It wasn't just the media cameras that were clicking.

Vin laughed and mentally made a note to tease his friend for a long time over his display… just before a sudden shove sent him fully clothed and screeching into the pool.

As he came up coughing and spluttering he saw a self satisfied Josiah beaming down at him. "Just thought I should cool your over stimulated imagination brother" Josiah rumbled as Vin pushed his wet and tangled hair from his eyes. Damn profiler could read body language as good as Ez.

Josiah's expression faded as Vin began to smile. 'That couldn't be good' was his last thought before he found himself on an unstoppable forward momentum. As he too surfaced Chris just gave him a shrug. As if the rest of the team had had a private conversation they let out a collective rebel yell and hurled themselves into the pool to celebrate.

The place went wild and Ezra found a) that he didn't mind showing his feelings quite so much as he had before and b) that Nathan couldn't swim worth a dime.

Oops!

OOO

OO

"Nathan Jackson I swear that you have less common sense than God gave a crawfish!" Raine continued her rant as she roughly towelled his hair dry as though he were a five year old and he had no choice but to sit there and take it. After all jumping into a swimming pool when you could barely doggy paddle wasn't the brightest move he'd ever made but just seeing his pain in the ass friend acting like that… the sheer joy, had overwhelmed him. And now he was paying the price. No-one would ever let him live this down.

The intermission had allowed those taking part in the diving to prepare and those supporting to borrow dry clothes where necessary. Team 7 had two springboard divers to cheer for but in reality no chance of a medal. Neither Buck nor Vin had all that much experience.

Even 3 metres was a long way down when you were standing quite literally on the edge Vin mused as his toes flexed against the blue springy surface. He tried to reach inside himself and block out the noise around him just like the coach had said. He also tried to block out the fact that he was wearing the skimpiest pair of trunks that he'd ever seen but the wolf whistles had made that difficult. In the end it was the promise made by Ezra to buy him the biggest steak dinner in Denver if he scored eights that schooled his thoughts and body into one streamlined move. It felt like his body was being torn apart as the joints protested at his contortions but as he hit the water cleanly he knew that dinner was on Ez.

8.5 8.5 8.0 8.0 8.5

Ezra groaned but not with too much disappointment. It was one bet he wasn't too dismayed to lose.

Buck wasn't configured to be a diver. He was too tall, too beefy, he knew that. But one other thing he knew was that he was totally configured to wear tight swimwear! He would be fighting off the ladies tonight that was for sure… well he'd put up a token resistance anyway!

Chris chuckled and put his head in his hands as Buck left the board with a gleeful yell and literally made quite a splash. Only Buck!

5.5 5.5 4.0 4.5 5.5550132 Everyone laughed as the score came up and Buck winked at the lovely lady judge in fifth position.

With team 8 taking gold and silver in the springboard and team 2 taking bronze Kelly gave Chris a gesture that signified that they were closing the gap. Chris gave Kelly a signal that had a far broader meaning. He wasn't worried. They had their secret weapon up next.

Their secret weapon didn't know whether to be delighted at once again being able to indulge himself in his favourite pastime of his youth for while swimming had been his strength the freedom and thrill he got from diving had been his joy, or to be terrified that despite doing well in practice he would let the team down when they needed him most. Well, maybe they needed him most when surrounded by armed miscreants but since Larabee had approached this whole Olympiad as though fighting a war the analogy could stand. Strangely enough the emotions he had felt at winning both swimming events made his terror now even stronger. Maybe Mother's emotionless state had it's advantages. He was the last to dive in the first of three rounds and while everyone else had done well… except for poor Hansen who had overturned on his somersault, that had to have hurt. So far Juarez from Kelly's team was in the lead with an almost perfect dive so no pressure there then. But Ezra had chosen a higher degree of difficulty and if he got it right his backward two and a half somersault in the pike ;position would secure the round.

In the stands the team watched anxiously… except for Nathan who was clutching his medical kit and had his eyes closed. All the divers had earned their respect but they knew how much this meant to their brother and if their thoughts could guide him safely and cleanly into the water they would have done it on sheer willpower.

Ezra felt that momentary thrill of weightlessness quickly followed by the pain in his back as he arched into the pike position and the pull of gravity that couldn't be denied. On entry he spread his arms out and down to funnel the water down with him and give a clean entry. It had been good, he could tell but had it been good enough to take the lead?

It had and the cheers that went up as each 9.5 was announced were music to his ears and that would be repeated in the next two rounds. Chris Larabee was the first to stand and applaud his agent but soon everyone was on their feet including the other divers. It was a stunning way to end the pool events. The final round had been high scoring but the straight tens for Ezra's final 3.1 difficulty dive had been special by any standards.

Kelly shook Chris's hand in defeat. His man had taken a silver that had made his team proud and he had heard a rumour that next year was to be some kind of traditional county fair… he couldn't wait to see Larabee's erudite undercover riding a bull or entering a pie bakeoff!

OOO

OO

They had taken the Olympics by storm. They had already wiped the floor with the other teams. This triathlon was just for them. The whole team were taking part and they would cross the line as they started… a team.

They didn't win. They left that to team 5 who had won precious little else despite playing fair unlike team two who had unfortunately met with several incidents that had impeded their progress to an alarming degree resulting in their last place both in the triathlon and overall. It seemed that the powers that be had decided that their performance had been so bad that they had been signed up for an especially tough retreat. But though team 7 didn't win the race they did literally cross the line together, holding a banner created for them by Nettie and Casey that simply read THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.

And nobody could argue with that.

END

AN Hope that was okay. I finished this during the closing ceremony of the Paralympic games so I just made it! Good luck Rio in 4 years, I'm sure it'll be an awesome party!


End file.
